Safety appliance for elevators.



S. L. MCKlNNEY.

SAFETY APPLIANCE FOR ELEVATORS. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 7. I9I2.

Patented J 11116 29, 1915.

THE NORRIS PETERS C41, PHOTO-LITHQ, WASHINGTON. u. C.

SAMUEL L. MCKINNEY,

OF PEKIN, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO ELEVATOR LOCKS 00., OF

PEORIA, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

SAFETY APPLIANCE FOB ELEVATORS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 29, 1915.

Application filed June 7, 1912. Serial No. 702,287.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, SAMUEL L. MCKINNEY, citizen of the United States, residing at Fekin, in the county of Tazewell and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Safety Appliances for Elevators; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact de scription of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a safety appliance for elevators and pertains particularly to a locking device for the floor door and to means cooperating therewith controlled by the operating or starting lever or other device within the elevator car.

In certain types of safety devices for elevator-cars an extension on the floor-door engages and moves a member mounted on the floor, said member having control of certain parts which lock the starting means within said car. The member and the means operated by it, however, have usually been connected in such a manner that it has been necessary to have the door entirely closed and latched before the operating device in the car could be released.

It is the purpose of my device to furnish a structure wherein the door may stand partially ajar and yet be positively held from being opened farther.

The primary object of the invention, therefore, is to provide a safety device for the door of an elevator by which said door will be prevented from being opened if by chance it is left ajar or unlatched.

A further object is to provide a device for locking the door of an elevator, in combination with mechanism controlled by the starting lever in the elevator car, the device being positively held by the mechanism to prevent the door being opened, said mechanism being adapted to release the device and the door when the starting lever is carried to a position to stop the car at a landing.

To the end that the invention may be clearly understood I have provided the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is an elevation of the floor of the building, a portion of the floor-door and my invention in connection therewith, together with a portion of the elevator car. Fig. 2 is an elevation of part of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1 and illustrated on a much larger scale. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of certain parts on line X X, Fig. 2. Fig. 4C is a transverse section of a roller and its carrying parts shown in Fig. 1.

A is the floor of the building in which the,

elevator is installed.

B indicates part of the front wall of the elevator car, and C indicates the usual floordoor suspended in any suitable way and guided in a runway indicated at D.

E is a roller carried by a pin F secured in any suitable bracket G attached to the edge of the door, said roller lying between the extensions of a forked member H mounted at its lower end upon a pin J extending through a support K mounted upon the floor A and made up of two vertical portions K K, Fig. The said forked member extends somewhat below the pin J and is provided with a series of ratchet teeth H arranged concentrically to the pivot pin J. A. rocking member L is mounted on the said pin J, or upon some other portion so that its axis is preferably coincident with the axis of said pin, said member having an arm M adapted to rock with the member H when the latter is moved in one direction and which also rocks relatively to the member at other times, but this will appear presently. Mounted upon the floor A is a standard N having two upwardly extending spaced arms 0 through both of which extends a horizontally disposed bar P lying parallel to the plane of the door.

Connected to one end of the bar is a link made up preferably of a thread bar Q adjustably held at one end in any suitable member R pivoted to said bar, the other end of said thread bar being adjustable in a similar member S pivoted to the arm M of the member L. Secured to the opposite end of the bar P is a spring T whose end is also suitably attached to the standard N.

U is a block having an opening through it for receiving the said bar P, said block being secured to the bar in any desired position by means of a set screw V for example. A roller W is carried by the block by means of a screw 2 the latter extending through said roller into one wall of the block, as shown in said Fig. 4c and then through a slot 3 in the bar into the other wall of the block.

In other devices of this kind where the block is carried by a bar having no slot 3 therein the part that carries the roller mustv project so far outward from the side of the block that there is too much leverage on the roller and the bar in sliding has too much friction in the parts that carry it. Furthermore, in use the screw which is the part preferably used works loose in a short time. It is my purpose to keep the roller quite close to the bar so that the line of push on the roller will be as near the longitudinal axis of the bar P as possible so that as little friction as possible is created. By slotting the bar P and letting the screw pass through it from one wall of the block to the other the likelihood of the screw becoming loose is reduced to a minimum. 7

Slidably mounted in the standard N so as to shift in a horizontal direction is a member 4- to which is pivotally connected an adjustable link made up of a thread bar 5, a member 6, into which it screws and which is pivoted to said member 1, and a similar member 7 pivotally attached to a bell crank lever 8 into which, also, the thread-bar 5 is screwed.

Pivoted between the upright portions K of the support K before mentioned, adjacent to the forked member H is a bell-cranklever 8 one arm of which is provided with one or more teeth 9 to engage certain of the ratchet teeth H of the said forked member H as clearly shown in the first two figures. The arm of the bell crank to which the link 5, 6, 7, is attached has secured thereto in any suitable manner one end of a spring X whose other end is secured to the support K and which constantly tends to move the teeth 9 toward and into engagement with the teeth H. The other end of the sliding member 1 carries a roller 11 the purpose of which will. appear presently. Secured on the side B of the car is a frame 12 which carries two members 13 and 14: both slidable in a horizontal direction. The upper one 13 has secured thereto a striking plate 15 and the lower one has a striking plate 16.

Projecting through. a slot 17 of the carwall B is a pin 18 secured to and extending from the back of the striking plate 16. This pin is attached to one end of a rod 19 in the car, the other end of said rod being attached to one arm of a bell-crank-lever 20 pivoted on the inner side of the wall B. Slidable vertically in guides 21 on the latter is a bar 22 surmounted at its top by a cross-arm 23 having downwardly slanting ends as shown. The starting device is shown at 24 in the form of a lever which carries a roller 25 adapted to engage and ride upon the top of the cross-arm 23. The lever is pivoted on the car in any usual way and the crossarm lies in the path of movement of its roller.

In addition to the striking plate 15 on the upper member 13 is a cross-bar 26 carrying a pin 27 which while notso shown extends through the wall B of the car and has control of a forked-bell-crank lever 27 pivoted on the saidwall. A rock shaft 27 is mounted 011 the car and carries two extensions to inclose the starting lever and carrying, also, a pinion'27 A rack-bar or other part 27 engages the pinion and is attached to the forked-lever 27.

In the normal position of the parts, as illustrated, the door stands at the closed position, as shown in full lines, the fork member H, therefore, lying at the-left, with the teeth 9 in engagement with the teeth H so that the door cannot be moved toward the right to open it. However, when the car is stopped opposite a landing the striking plate 15 carried on the car by means of the member 13, is brought opposite the roller W and at the same time the striking plate 16 is brought opposite the roller 11 carried by the member 41 which, it will be remembered, is mounted on the floor. As the car is stopped at the landing the starting device or lever 2 1 has been brought to its central position or position of rest and in engaging the crossarm 23 depresses the bar 22 resulting in shifting the striking plate 16 to the right as viewed in the drawings. The latter now engages the roller 11 which, together with the member 1, is moved in the same direction resulting in removing the teeth 9 of the bellcrank 8 from the teeth H of the fork H, the latter being released. The door may now be opened and in shifting it the forked member H by means of a lug H thereon, for example, engages the arm M of the member L and moves it on its pivot in the same direction with said forked memberthus shifting the bar P so that the roller W carried by it will engage the striking plate 15 and shift the member 13 and finally the rock-shaft 27 to engage the starting lever.

It is to be understood that in this application I lay no claim to those parts in the car, in themselves, that are operated by the movement of the starting device, or those parts that prevent the starting device being operated but I merely described these to assist in making the operation of the device entirely clear. That is to say, I do not claim those parts except in combination with the door locking device.

I have shown the forked member .H in dotted lines in one of its positions during the opening movement of the door and have shown also in dotted lines the position of the arm M of the member L as moved to shift the bar P, while the third and lowest position of the arm M is that to which it is carried finally in the movement of the fork and wherein the point of connection between the arm and member S of the thread bar Q, is carried below a line extending through the axis of the pin J and the pivot point of the member R at said bar P, the arm M preferably resting upon the pivoted portion of the part 8. When moved to this position it is observed that regardless of the position of the forked member H, for instance during the closing movement of the door before the said forked member is engaged and moved by said door, the said bar P must remain in the position to which it has been moved and thus the roller W will hold the striking plate 15 in the position shown in dotted lines and hold the starting device within the car from being moved. It is observed that if the striking plate were permitted to regain its normal or idle position the starting member would be released before the door were properly closed and the car could then be started. However, when the door is closed or at least when within a few inches of its closed position a lug L for example on the toothed extension of the forked member H is brought to a position beneath the arm M lifting that member until its point of connection with the member S is above the axis of the pin J. The spring T attached to and in control of the bar P will then return the bar to its first position carrying the arm M to its normal or starting position. This movement releases the striking plate 15 which returns to its proper normal position, releasing the starting lever.

The advantage in my structure is that the door need not be entirely shut but on the contrary may stand open a few inches if accidentally left so and yet the car may be started away from the floor. At the same time persons outside the door cannot possibly open it on account of the engaging teeth 9 and H described. Heretofore, it has been necessary to absolutely close the door before the starting device could be operated to start the car requiring considerable care in so doing, making the starting late. It was nec essary also to have the door closed and latched in order that persons on the outside could not tamper with and open it. With the device herein, however, the car may leave the floor after the door has arrived within a few inches or an inch or so of closing and does not happen to entirely close so that no time is lost in getting the car under way and at the same time it is impossible to move the door except in a direction to close it, the teeth H shifting on the teeth 9.

In the claims for the sake of brevity I have used the term engage as applied to the functioning of the part 27 that engages the starting device of lever 24;. By this I mean a part that when placed in the way of the said device or lever will prevent a movement thereof sufficient to start the car.

I do not confine myself, of course, to any specific structure in accomplishing the purpose herein since various other arrangements are possible.

Having thus described my invention I claim:

1. The combination with an elevator car, its starting device, and a door, of mechanism mounted independent of the car and having a part lying in the path of and engaged and moved by the door, said mechanism including an extended portion, mechanism on the car including a part arranged to hold the starting device and also including a part in position to be engaged and moved by the described extended portion to carry the second described part into the path of the device, means to engage and positively hold the first described mechanism in one of its positions, and a manually operated part on the car to engage and move said means to release the said mechanism.

2. The combination with an elevator car,

its starting device, and a door, of mechanism mounted independent of the car and having a part lying in the path of and engaged and moved by the door, said mechanism including an extended portion, mechanism on the car including a part arranged to hold the starting device and also including a part in position to be engaged and moved by the described extended portion to carry the second described part into the path of the device, means to engage and positively hold the first described mechanism in one of its positions, the same being operated by the said starting device to release said first described mechanism.

3. The combination with an elevator-car, its starting device, and a door, of a member pivoted independent of the car and lying in the path of and moved by the-door, mechanism operated by the member in the opening movement of the door and adapted to hold the starting device, said mechanism also having movement independent of the member, and means controlled from within the car for securing the member in a fixed position.

t. The combination with an elevator-car, its starting device, and a door, of a member pivotally mounted independent of the car and adapted to be moved by the door, means to engage and positively hold the member for preventing it and the door from moving in one direction, a part controlled from within the car adapted to be brought into engagement with and operate the said means to release the member, and means positively moved by the member into the path of movement of the starting device.

5. The combination with an elevator-car, a door including an extension, and a manually operated device, of a forked member pivotally mounted independent of the car and engaged and moved by said extension of the said door, and means including a portion directly engaging and holding the member and preventing movement of the means including a part. to directly and normally engage and hold the member and door from movement and engaged and operated by the said manually operated device to remove the part from said member.

7. The combination with an elevator-car, a manually operated device therein, and a door, of a pivotally mounted member in position to be moved by a part of said door and adapted to be swung thereby to two extreme positions and adapted, also, in use, to remain in one of such extreme positions irrespective of the movement of said'door, means including a part to directly and normally engage and hold the member and door from movement and engaged and operated by the said manually operated device to remove the part from said member, and means to elastically hold the said part in engagement with the said member.

8. The combination with an elevator-car, a manually operated device therein, and a fioor-door, of a member pivotally mounted on the building floor in position to be moved by a part of said door and adapted to be swung thereby to two extreme positions and adapted, also, in use, to remain in one of such extreme positions irrespective of the movement of'said door, means mounted on the floor including a part to directly and normally engage and hold the member from movement and engaged and operated by the said manually operated device to remove the part from said member.

9. The combination with an elevator-car, its starting device, and a door, of a plvotally mounted member separate from the car.

adapted to be moved by the door, means within the car including a portion to engage the starting device, mechanism operated by the member to engage and move the said means, and means including a part engaging the member and normally holding the same from movement and operated by the starting device to release said member.

10. The combination with an elevator-car, its starting device, and a door, of a pivotally mounted member in the path of the door and moved by it, mechanism on the car including a portion to engage the starting device, means operated by the member to engage and move the said mechanism in the opening movement of the door, and a part engaging the member and normally holding it from movement and operated by the said within the car to release the its starting lever, and a door, ofmechanism on the car including a part to engagesaid starting lever, mechanism to move'the first said mechanism and operated by the door in lts openlng movement, the second named mechanism also adapted to have movement independent of said door and its movement,

and adapted to be held stationary in the le-' ver engaging position'of the said part,'and means: operated from within the car to re lease the said second named mechanism.

12. The combination with an elevator-car, its starting-lever, and a door, of mechanism on the car'including a part to engage said starting lever, mechanism to move the first said mechanism and operated by the door in its opening movement, the second named mechanism also adapted to have movement independent ofsaid door and itsmovement, and adapted and arranged to assume a locked position, automatically, in the lever engaging position of said part, and means operated from within the car to release the said second named mechanism.

13. The combination with an elevator-car, its starting lever and a door, of a part on the car to engage said starting lever, a rockarm mounted on the building floor and operated by the door and provided With a series of ratchet teeth, mechanism likewise mounted on the floor and adapted to operate the said part in the car and engaged and moved by the rock-arm, the same being adapted also to move independent of said arm, and a device having engagement with the ratchet teeth to hold the rock-arm from movement in one direction and operated from within the car.

14. The combination with an elevator-car, its starting device, and a door, of a part within the car to engage said starting-device, a rock-arm operated by the door and provided with a series of ratchet teeth, mechanism mounted independent of the rock-arm and engaged and moved by it to operate the lever engaging part within the car, and means including a part normally engaging the ratchet-teeth and operated by the starting-lever to release said rock-arm.

15. The combination with an elevator-car, its starting device, and a door, of a part within the car to engage said starting device, a rock-arm operated by the door in its opening movement and provided with a series of ratchet teeth, independently mounted mechanism engaged and moved by the rock-arm to operate the part in the car and adapted to hold said part during a part of the closing movement of the door irrespective of the movement of the rock-arm by said door, means including a part to engage the ratchet teeth, means to elastically maintain the engaging relation of the same, and means operated by the starting device to engage the said means for moving the last named part from its engaging relation.

16. The combination with an elevato1-car, its starting device, and a floor door, of a rock-arm in the path of the door and operated by it, a part adapted to positively engage the rock-arm to hold it from movement in one direction but permit movement in an opposite direction, manually operated means on the car to disengage the said part and the rock arm when the car is stopped at the floor, mechanism including a second rock-arm adapted to be engaged by the first and moved in one direction thereby, and mechanism on the car including a part to engage and hold the starting device inoperative and engaged by the first said mechanism in the opening movement of the door.

17 The combination with an elevator-car, its starting device, and a floor door, of a pivoted arm adapted to be moved by and in the movement of the door, mechanism on the car including a part to be moved into the path of the starting device, mechanism adapted to move the first described mechanism including a member hingedly related to the arm to engage said second named mechanism, said arm and the member adapted in the opening movement of the door to move the described part of the said first mechanism into engagement with the starting device, said arm and member then adapted to assume positions relatively whereby to hold the first described mechanism in its extended position and maintain the starting device inoperative, and a device operatively engaging one of the described portions and constantly tending to retract the second described mechanism.

18. The combination with an elevator-car, its starting device, and a floor door, of a pivoted arm adapted to be engaged and moved by the latter, a second pivoted arm, in position to be operated by the first, mechanism on the car including a part to engage the starting device, mechanism adapted to be moved into engagement with and to move the first described mechanism, and a member hingedly related to the second described arm and engaging the second named mechanism, said arm and the member adapted in the opening movement of the door to move the described part into engagement with the starting device, said arm and member then adapted to assume positions relatively whereby to hold the first described mechanism in its extended position and maintain engagement of the part and said starting device, and a device operatively engaging Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the one of the described portions and constantly tending to retract the second described mechanism.

19. The combination with an elevator-car, its starting device, and a floor door, of a member engaged and positively moved by the door, a second member engaged and controlled by the first said member, the members being adapted also for movement one relatively to the other, mechanism on the car including a part adapted to hold the starting device in its inoperative position, mechanism to engage the first said mechanism and move the part toward the starting device, a part connected with the said second member and engaging the second named mechanism to move it, a stop to limit the movement of the said second member and said part imparted in the opening movement of the door, and a part carried by the first member to engage and move the second said member to permit the said second named mechanism to be retracted to release the starting device.

20. The combination with an elevator-car and a floor-door, of a pivoted rock-arm supported independently of the car and adapted to be swung in the movements of the door, means including a member positively engaging said rock-arm to hold the door from movement, a manually operated part carried on the car adapted to engage and move said means to release the rock-arm, and mechanism operated by said rock-arm to engage and hold the said part.

21. The combination with an elevator-car, and a floor door, of a pivoted rock-arm adapted to be swung in the movement of the door, an elastically held part pivoted to swing parallel to the plane of? the rock-arm adapted to positively engage said rock-arm to prevent movement of the same and the door, and means on the car to move the part and disengage it from the rock-arm.

22. The combination with an elevator-car, and a floor door, of a member engaged and rocked by said door, a second member adjacent the first, one of them including in its construction a series of teeth, the other adapted for engaging the teeth whereby the first described member is positively held in one of a number of positions, means to elastically hold the members in engagement, mechanism to disengage the members and a manually operated device carried by the elevator-car to engage said mechanism.

In testimony whereof I afiiX my signatnre, in presence of two witnesses.

SAMUEL L. MOKINNEY.

Witnesses:

W. I. SLnMMoNs, L. M. THURSTON.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

